We’re excited to introduce our EdTech community to our latest Eduporium Featured Educator, Carla Neely, who’s an elementary teacher in Cleveland, Ohio! This month, Carla shared some of the strategies and successes she’s used to expose students to STEM learning. Carla has also been the recipient of our EdTech grant and she’s thankful she has a principal who allows her to take some risks and get creative in the classroom! She has done so much to help level the playing field in STEM for the young African American girls she teaches by helping to facilitate meaningful learning experiences with technology.
Carla Neely
Elementary Science Teacher, Warner Girls Leadership Academy, Cleveland, OH
Q&A:
Please share any innovative EdTech project(s) you've completed with your students or plan to complete.
Even though I am a science educator, I use the STEM framework when it comes to instruction in my classroom. Instead of having students write a report on a bridge around the world, I had the students use a blueprint and build the bridge that they are researching themselves. I placed the students in six groups and each group had their own K'NEX Education Bridges Set that I ordered from Eduporium. Once students learned how each part in building a bridge works, I then gave them all the creative freedom they needed to create a bridge with K'NEX pieces. When all groups had created their bridge, I chose a day for them to present the bridge that they created and information they'd like to share. Students also had to show how it worked. I kept the bridges that they built on display for everyone to see!
What is a challenge you faced or are facing with your EdTech use? What resources did you use or are in need of?
I am blessed to have a school principal who supports my vision for the young ladies in my classroom when it comes to STEM learning and opportunities. My biggest challenge as a STEM educator is making sure that I give my students as many opportunities in engineering and computer science as I possibly can, which involves funding. However, I do not allow that to stop me. I am constantly attending trainings that lead to me receiving free materials that can be very expensive when purchased for many students. We've also been quite successful with receiving grants to even the playing field when it comes to African American girls in STEM. I want to be able to give my students opportunities with learning how to code robots. Therefore, I need resources the students can use to practice coding different types of robots and seeing how it all comes to life.
What are some of the real-world skills you've seen your students develop through regular EdTech use?
Obviously, I'm an educator at an all-girls school. The girls have learned that they can do anything and be whatever they want to be. When it comes to completing their goals, stereotypes are thrown out of the door. I do not allow them to carry the 'it’s only for boys' mindset. Through the completion of the bridges project, they also learned the importance of teamwork and that all experiences include a process before being presented.
What interests you most about Eduporium?
What interests me about Eduporium is the wealth of EdTech and STEAM materials available. The Eduporium store has just about everything I need to spark my students’ interests in STEM. There is truly something available for all students of all abilities.
We thank Carla for sharing her thoughts and experiences with us and for helping to create effective STEAM learning experiences for young women in STEM! We hope these stories continue to inspire other educators to try some new things as well! Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more updates on the great things educators are doing with EdTech. Also, if you’d like to apply to be highlighted on our blog and social media channels as an Eduporium Featured Educator, we’d love to have you fill out the application!